The “monstrous Heresy” of Punitive Damages: a Comparison to the Death Penalty and Suggestions for Reform

INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................854 I. THEORIES AND CRITIQUES OF PUNITIVE DAMAGES ........................857 A. The History and Theories of Punitive Damages Awards ......... 857 B. Critiques of Punitive Damages ........................................... 860 II. THE SUPREME COURT’S PUNITIVE DAMAGES JURISPRUDENCE .......863 III. THE SUPREME COURT’S EIGHTH AMENDMENT ARBITRARINESS JURISPRUDENCE ....................................................869 A. Furman v. Georgia and Its Aftermath ............................... 869 B. Properly Understood, Furman Is a Procedural Due Process Decision ......................................................... 872 C. Criticisms of the Court’s Death Penalty Regime ..................... 874 IV. APPLYING FURMAN TO PUNITIVE DAMAGES ....................................878 A. The Requirements of Furman Should Apply to Punitive Damages ......................................................................... 878 B. Furman Should Apply to Punitive Damages Regardless of Criticisms of the Case ........................................................ 882 C. How the Procedural, Substantive, and Behavioral Criticisms of Punitive Damages Should Influence New Statutes ............. 884 V. A PROPOSED JURY INSTRUCTION ....................................................888 CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................890